If Tomorrow Never Comes
by JadeDragonHawk
Summary: Depressed and frustrated by his relationship with Isaak, Dietrich decides to share his misery around by showing Ester that she's in the same situation as he is. Unfortunately for him, Abel takes strong exception to this. Isaak/Dietrich and Abel/Ester
1. Chapter 1

**Just a story I had floating around in my head. Besides, I wanted to write something different as a break from First Impressions...**

* * *

Dietrich stared out over the city of Rome, perched on the balcony on the top floor of the building in which the Orden was holding its latest meeting. Golden rays of yellow and orange, red and pink lit up the sky and stained the roofs below him as the sun continued its descent towards the western horizon. In the north, a half moon was already visible, though faint and pale against the glory of such a sunset.

No doubt somewhere inside Cain was still outlining his newest plans to his loyal servants; Dietrich had grown bored as soon as he realised that none of them involved him, and had quietly slipped out of the room. He would probably get a lecture from Isaak for it later, but right now he was fairly certain that the view he had was worth it. Ironically, the only thing he wanted now was the mage to share it with.

In the distance he could make out the towers of the Vatican, and his thoughts flew instinctively to Ester. What was she doing then, and did she think of him sometimes? He had no idea why, or when, he had become so obsessed with the red-haired nun, but Isaak had not been at all pleased. In fact, the magician had shown such surprising jealousy that Dietrich had, not without regret, temporarily given up all interaction with her just to placate his lover. At times like these, however, when Isaak was cold and aloof by day and exhausted at night; the rest of the Orden were doing Cain's bidding and extreme boredom set in; his mind would fall to thinking of her. Sometimes he suspected it was simply because he had nothing else to do, and Ester was the first thing that came to mind.

At other times when he was being more honest with himself, Dietrich could admit that thinking about Ester was simply a convenient way to avoid thinking about Isaak. He knew that falling in love with a dark, sadistic mage was possibly the stupidest thing he could ever do, but he hadn't been able to find a way around it; nor did he know what to do about it now that it was irreversible. Isaak was a possessive, rather violent 'lover', but Dietrich doubted whether he actually cared at all. He would probably have slept with any pretty young boy foolish (or besotted) enough to throw himself at the magician's head.

Dietrich lost track of how long he had been sitting there, just gazing blankly into space, completely absorbed in his thoughts. The sun had set, the sky darkened and stars were glinting brightly above him when the door to the balcony opened and a tall figure stepped silently over its threshold.

"So this is where you are." Isaak frowned down at his errant protégé. "You missed the briefing."

"It was boring, Isaak. Besides, none of it affected me. And it's so lovely out here." _Or it was. _Dietrich shivered. _When_ _did it get so cold?_

Dark eyes observed this sceptically. 'I.. see."

Then, as the young terran showed no signs of moving, Isaak turned and made his way towards the door. "Come inside now Dietrich. It's late, cold and I'm tired. My Lord set me a mission for the morning; I need to sleep now."

Obediently, Dietrich rose and followed him. "For tomorrow _morning_, Isaak? You'll never be awake at that time!"

"Then you will have to wake me- that _is _why I sleep with you. If I hadn't had to spend forever trying to find where you had disappeared to, I could have been asleep already."

* * *

Long, delicate eyelashes flickered, eyes opened, were dazzled by seemingly blinding light and then quickly shut again. Conciousness slowly surfacing, Dietrich shifted slightly and curled back against the warmth beside him. After a few minutes, having tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep, he opened his eyes again. Morning sun was attempting shine through the heavy blinds covering the window; he was fairly certain that this was what had both awakened and temporarily blinded him.

Raising his head a little, Dietrich gazed drowsily down at the mage sleeping next to him, arms wrapped securely around the young man's waist. He supposed that everyone looked innocent while sleeping, but he didn't think he would ever get used to it. It was the reason he always made sure to awaken before Isaak, so he could enjoy the only time when Isaak let his guard down. Why the vampire felt comfortable doing this Dietrich wasn't sure; perhaps it had something to do with the miriad of spells and shields that always seemed to surround their bedroom.

Reluctantly, he lifted his hand to gently shake the mage's shoulder. "Isaak. Isaak."

Upon receiving no response he repeated the actions a little more forcefully. This time he was rewarded with an uncommunicative grunt, followed by faint stirring and finally eyes flickering, blinking and slowly opening.

Isaak stretched and half sat up, then collapsed back into the warm bed, pulled Dietrich's lithe form against him, ignoring the yelp of protest, and buried his face in the young man's neck. After trying unsuccessfully for several moments to wriggle free, Dietrich gave it up and relaxed into the embrace.

A thought struck him and he raised his head again. "Isaak?"

"... mmm?"

"Your mission is only for the morning, right? So when you're finished, can we go into Rome?"

A pause.

"Can't you go by yourself?"

Dietrich pouted. "But I want to go with you."

"We didn't come here for sightseeing."

"But..."

Isaak untangled himself and rose gracefully from the bed, sounding much more awake now. "I have better things to do with my time than wandering through this Vatican infested city. So should you." He spoke impatiently, voice cold and uncaring.

Dietrich sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

**I would like to apologise for two things. First, the length of time it took me to write this chapter. I really didn't intend to take this long, but I had a lot of trouble starting it and then it seemed to become quite long...**

**The second is for the number of people who might be ooc. For most of them I hope it's not too bad but Helga must be (well I've never even seen her, I don't know how she acts!). I just needed someone to play that part and she seemed like the best choice. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood**

* * *

After Isaak left, Dietrich moped around his room for as long as he could bear the painful thoughts constantly intruding into his mind. He couldn't help but wonder if Isaak had never met Cain; if they had never come up with the idea of a new world order, how different things would be. Finally he slammed out of the irritatingly close, dark room wishing he had never met either of them. Intending on going out into the morning light, he paused outside the meeting room, and poked his head round the corner.

Within were Isaak, Cain and Helga. Only the latter two were actually conversing however; Isaak seemed to be quietly forgotten in the background. He looked up on sensing Dietrich's presence and smiled; an action that spoke volumes for the boredom he have been experiencing.

Dietrich cocked an eyebrow at Helga. '_Is she flirting with him again...?'_

Isaak rolled his eyes. _'Of course she is.'_

A grin. _'Oh poor you. I sympathise.'_

At this point Cain noticed that Isaak's attention was distracted and turned an inquiring gaze upon him, and Dietrich took the opportunity to escape outside into the sunshine. He wanted a walk. A long walk... Hmmm... Yes, he knew exactly where he was going.

* * *

In another part of the city, a red-haired young woman was humming gently to herself as she put the finishing touches on Father Abel's birthday cake. It was a three-tiered creation in the shape of a church, with blue and white icing and a spun-sugar cross on the top. Poking the final candle into a perfectly spaced circle around this delicacy, Ester smiled and turned as the door opened and Father Wordsworth entered.

"Finished, Ester? Just in time too." He advanced into the room, to stand admiringly in front of the masterpiece currently gracing the table top. "Magnificent, my dear. But you haven't put nearly enough candles on! Only two, five, ten, fifteen- twenty! I think our good Father Abel is a little older than twenty."

She mock glared at him. "Father, if you think I'm going to find some 900 candles _and _make a cake big enough to fit them all on..."

"Of course, Sister, I spoke without thinking," He teased her, "naturally you would not want to put so much effort in for a mere _work colleague_."

Ester blushed and turned her head away. "Please Professor..."

He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Forgive me. Now, let's take this cake out to the others, shall we?"

Quite a crowd was gathered in the Vatican's hall. All the living AX members were present, from Sister Kate to Father Tres, and several Methuselah had journeyed from the Empire, namely the Empress Augusta, Ion and Asta. Caterina was calmly directing Hugue and Leon, who were perched on ladders, in the placement of some last minute decorations; but here the organisation ended. Everyone else seemed to be running around like headless chickens, desperately trying to finish their allotted tasks before Abel arrived.

Seth was dashing about trying to fit all the dishes of food on the several tables, all of which were covered in clean white cloths. With her hair and dress in disarray, and several smudges on her cheeks, she looked perfectly distracted as she continued on her work which resembled nothing so much as a complex jigsaw puzzle.

Ester surveyed her in dismay. "Ah, Seth...? Where shall we put this?"

The crusnik spared her a glance, and then gasped in horror, the dish she was currently holding slipping from her grasp. It would have crashed to the floor but for the quick intervention of Father Tres, who, thankfully for the success of this surprise party, was constantly on the lookout for disaster. He returned it to her, telling her in a monotone voice that she should be more careful.

Seth received the dish but paid no heed to him, her attention being focussed on the really quite massive birthday cake borne between Ester and William. "Oh no! I completely forgot about the cake! Where _are _we going to put it??"

Fortunately Caterina took charge. "It will go in the centre of that table, naturally," She pointed to the largest, already fully laden with jellies, creams, sweets and generally any other sugary food. "We don't need all that out here now anyway. Some of it can go back in the kitchen to make room. We can take it out when we've eaten the rest."

Ion, Seth and Father Havel scurried to shift the dishes as Leon snorted. "Do you really think we'll get to taste any of it? Not if our good Father Abel has anything to say about it!"

There was a general laugh, and Ester felt something inside her grow warm as she pictured the tall, child-like priest. She was quickly jerked from her musing, however, when the Duchess of Kiev dashed into the room, exclaiming that Abel was almost here and why were they not yet ready?

Caterina, who had earlier banished Asta from the proceedings, telling her that they could very well dispense with the aid of such a klutz and sent her to watch for Abel's approach, took a swift glance around the room and nodded in satisfaction.

"All right, people! Tres, Havel, cover those tables so Abel can't see the food. Everyone else, find a place to hide."

Methuselah and Terrans scattered in all directions; some diving behind the long curtains along the room's west side, some crouching under tables while others huddled behind the altar standing in the corner. Squeezed into the cupboard with Ion, Hugue and Tres, Ester peered through the crack between the two doors. Caterina stood alone in the middle of the room, facing the hallway.

Everyone held their breath; it felt like an eternity, but finally there came the sound of boots clicking against the marble floor, accompanied by a soft humming. Straining her eyes against the bright, late afternoon sun, Ester felt a slight blush cover her cheeks as she watched Father Abel Nightroad wander aimlessly into the chamber.

He checked just inside the threshold, seeing first Caterina and then the tables, covered in the their white cloths. He stared around in mild curiosity and turned questioningly to the cardinal.

"Caterina? What's going on?"

"SURPRISE!!!!"

Abel reeled back a few steps in shock as what seemed like 100 laughing, shouting people tumbled out of their respective hiding places. "Happy Birthday!" was the general cry, but it was so jumbled and overlapped by the number of voices saying it that only the gist was distinguishable.

* * *

At the northern end of Rome, about two hour's fast walk from the Vatican and 90 minutes from the Rosencreutz building, stood a circle of ancient holly oaks, a rare find indeed in this world. As wide as they were tall, these trees had been painstakingly planted at a fair distance from each other, and surrounding an even older castle.

Nowadays it was falling apart; the current owners having long ago given up on restoring it to its former glory- if it ever had any. An inconvenient, cold, stone building, it had been built during the time when something called 'mediaeval' had been in fashion. The architects had given assurances that the castle was "a perfect replica"; perhaps the realisation of just how uncomfortable things had been in the 'good old days' was why it had speedily gone out of fashion again. Or maybe it was just following the way of everything that comes and goes. Perhaps the owners continued to keep it intact, instead of pulling it down and building a nice, modern house, just in case it came back into fashion again.

Dietrich had discovered it in one of his (admittedly brief) moments of rebellion, which he had gone through in his early teenage years and now considered himself to have grown out of. Staying in Rome with Isaak, he had run off trying to find somewhere that he could hide, and never be found again. After passing the edge of the city and a short trek through a pine forest, he came upon that circle of holly oaks and the crumbling towers standing in somewhat painful protuberance above them.

It suited him perfectly; the atmosphere of decay, the total isolation, the mournful cries of the circling kestrel... On this occasion he had remained there for hours, simply drinking in the air and leaving the world behind. Isaak had found him eventually, of course, but still the place held an unearthly fascination for him.

On such a beautiful day as this the sunlight penetrated almost every corner of that ancient ruin, lighting rooms and hallways rarely seen by human eyes. If one truly wished to escape the sun's eye then the inner keep and the dungeon were suitable dank, dark and cold; however today Dietrich was perched on one of the topmost towers, gazing over the trees and farmland spread out below. He felt like a king surveying his people- there was no one in the world who could touch him here.

* * *

In the Vatican, all was merriment and joy. Having dispensed with chairs, the AX and their visitors were standing round the cheerfully decorated room, enjoying the late, warm sun, the delicious food and each others' company. Leon (predictably) brought out several bottles of wine and Caterina proposed a toast:

"To Abel, our most loved and least reliable friend!"

There was a general chuckle, and Abel choked on his drink. Laughter ensued and William had to thump him on the back before he could be returned to normal.

Finally it was time to cut the cake. It had remained hidden until now beneath a white cloth, which was now removed to reveal the masterpiece Ester had spent all morning cooking. There were murmurs of appreciation as the others took in what they had been too busy to notice before.

"Wow! Who made this work of art?" Abel asked.

"That would be Ester," The Professor informed him proudly. "She worked all morning making this."

"It's amazing. Thank you so much, Sister Ester!"

Ester turned her head away, blushing. "You're welcome, Father."

A cake slice was produced and handed to Abel. He hovered over the cake for a few moments, indecisive.

"I daren't cut it... It's too beautiful- I'll destroy it!"

But he did cut it, and carefully handed round slices to each one present. They were duly devoured and pronounced divine; Ester was again complimented on her skill and they began the long process of clearing up the really unbelievable mess that had been created.

"Why don't you leave this to us, Abel, and take Ester out for a walk?" Leon suggested, a not so subtle attempt at leaving the two on their own. "I hear there's a festival on at the moment; I'm sure she'd love to see it."

"What a good idea," Caterina agreed rather forcefully, glaring repressively at Seth, who seemed to have succumbed to a fit of giggles. "Go on, Abel. Leave all this. It _is _your birthday."

"Well... If you're sure... Would you like to go, Ester?"

"Oh yes Father! Just a moment, please."

Ester ran lightly out of the room and up the stairs to her room to fetch a cloak, correctly guessing that after the sun went down it would become very cold outside.

* * *

It wasn't until the sun was more than halfway through its descent that Dietrich realised how long he'd spent at the castle. Reluctantly deciding that he'd better head back, he leapt lightly down to the ground and began the long walk back to the Rosencreutz building.

Upon arriving, he found the place in a whirlwind of activity, with people, vampires and death hunters running this way and that, seemingly all with important jobs to be done.

Dietrich passed through the first three floors, carefully keeping out of the way, and finally came to Isaak's study. This, unfortunately, was empty, so he was forced to resume his search for the mage- or anyone who could tell him what was going on.

He eventually ran Isaak to earth in the meeting room, where he was pouring over a large pile of boring-looking papers, along with Cain and Balthasar von Neumann. Helga was there also, but unlike the others she didn't seem to be working. Unless addressing a constant stream of unimportant remarks to Cain could be considered as working.

"Excuse me? Isaak? What's going on?" Dietrich stepped hesitantly into the room.

Absorbed in the paper work, the mage didn't respond until the question had been repeated in a louder voice. Then he scowled and turned his head slowly towards the young man standing in the doorway. Cain also raised his head, curiously observing the two of them.

"So there you are. It's about time you got back. Where have you been?" Isaak snapped irritably.

"At the north end of the city. I didn't realise what the time was."

"Whatever. Well there's nothing for you to do here, so you may as well go to your room and try to keep out of the way."

Hurt, Dietrich glanced at Cain for confirmation but the Crusnik simply gazed at him. Finally accepting the blunt dismissal he left the room and walked slowly down the hallway, a bitter feeling of rejection and injustice swirling in his head.

A few hours later, Isaak entered the dimly lit room where Dietrich had retreated to sulk alone. His eyes softened a little at the sight of the terran lying moodily on the bed, but his voice was cold when he spoke.

"I'm taking Helga out to the festival in a few minutes. Didn't you want to go?" He added rather unkindly, "You can help to entertain her."

The young man's head jerked up, eyes staring unbelievingly at the vampire in front of him. Every feeling of hurt, loneliness and rejection that had been haunting him for the past few weeks rushed up inside of him like a raging tide, pushing at the barriers and threatening to break over them...

"So you'll take her anywhere she wants to go, but you can't spare the time for me??"

Isaak looked a little startled. "What are you talking about?"

The dam broke- the gathering storm was released. Dietrich sprang up from the bed and strode to the door.

"Forget it. I should have known better than to hope for anything from _you._ All you ever think about is your precious _work_; _Mein Herr _and _igne natura renovatur integra_! Well I've had enough. I'm leaving."

The door slammed behind him and his hasty, impetuous footsteps quickly faded. Isaak stared at the closed door, a strange, twisted expression on his face.

"Di..."

* * *

It was dark as Dietrich made his way through the streets of Rome, amidst the milling crowds of people- faceless people who spoke to each other in loud, animated tones and never stopped to listen to what was being said to them. He knew there was a festival in progress, had known for several days. It was part of the reason he had asked Isaak to explore the city with him, even though there had been very little chance that the mage would agree. But however he might have enjoyed the experience with company, now he could only feel irritation at the number of people around him; pushing him and impeding his progress.

Everyone was smiling, laughing, having fun- such an exact opposite of his mood that Dietrich wanted to use his strings on the courting couple sitting on the pier and send them tumbling into the cold dark river; wanted to trip the little girl who dashed across the road in front of him; wanted to cause _some kind of havoc, pain or fear. _It was an almost overwhelming urge, but he did none of these things. For he had learned self control, whatever _some _people might think.

Never in his life had Dietrich felt as lonely as he did then, in the midst of the crowd assembled for this carnival. He had the impression that he was moving in some kind of movie, when only one person is seen in colour and everyone in the background is simply a haze of black and white.

Then, he saw _her._ Bright red hair, blue and white habit, she was moving swiftly along the side walk with a man- not just a man, he noticed, but the priest who had interfered in their plans at Istvan. They were talking quickly and quietly, but for all that he could see that they were arguing unhappily. A wicked grin spreading over his face, Dietrich changed his course and made his way towards them.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**Oh, and Isaak and Dietrich aren't using telepathy at the beginning. They're just communicating through knowledge of each other's body language.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I am very sorry about the length of time it took me to update. In my defense, this is the hardest chapter I've ever had to write (I'm still not really happy about it) and the plot decided to go on a temporary holiday. Hopefully the next chapter will be quicker- I'm sure I've said that before though... **

* * *

Ester hummed gently as she walked through the already brightly lit streets by Abel's side, glad she had thought to bring a coat when she felt the chill of the evening breeze start to set in. Even though the sun was still in the sky, lamps, candles and lanterns had been lit and a cool wind was blowing in off the river. On either side of them were stalls full of fascinating merchandise: candles, silks, incense, wood and metalwork crafts, toys and gifts. Vendors shouted their wares to all and sundry, competing fiercely against each other while prospective customers crowded around, talking eagerly among themselves. Tantalising smells drifted from food stalls and tempted the cold and hungry off the streets and into their warm glow.

Abel purchased some snacks for the two of them and they wandered leisurely through the crowds, exclaiming over the many strange and wonderful things from different lands which were proudly displayed on table tops and stalls.

So caught up in the festival was Ester that she did not notice the growing darkness; so it came as a shock to her when she glanced up to the sky and saw the sun's final rays slip below the horizon.

Noticing the direction of her gaze, Able smiled wryly.

"My, how the time's flown! Should we return now, hmm?"

She hesitated. "Just a few more minutes, Father?"

They turned their footsteps towards the river; lights flickered enchantingly on the cold, slow-moving water and the crowd became thinner. The air was becoming colder and the passersby shivered and drew their coats closer around them, however Ester hardly felt it. She was too occupied in attempting to phrase what had been uppermost in her mind for the past few weeks, and wondering whether she ought to mention it at all.

Abel broke the rather uncomfortable silence.

"Thank you for baking a birthday cake for me, Sister. It really was delicious."

"It was nothing, really, Father."

"I hope you don't feel that your duties to the Vatican involve baking cakes for each of its members! You must not let us take advantage of your good nature." Abel tried (rather futilely) to lighten the atmostphere a little.

"Duty?" Ester looked up at him in surprise. "You think I did it for _duty_?"

Abel sighed and half turned his face away. "Ester.. I have known for a while that you- well, that you- care about me.. more than, Tres or the Professor, say, but..."

"Of course I do. I love you! I thought... I thought you cared for me too..." She stared pleadingly up at him, tears welling in her eyes and threatening to spill over.

He stared at her in dismay, mind searching desperately for an escape that wouldn't hurt her.

"Ester..." Dammit, why couldn't he stop saying her name? He tried again; "It's not that, not that at all! It's just not that simple..."

"But _why _not? I don't understand." Broken fragmented thoughts flashed through her mind, each struggling for dominance and fading as they were pushed aside by others. Was he trying to tell her he didn't love her?

"I am far too old for you."

"I don't care!"

They were walking faster now, paying no attention to where they were going or the people around them; focused solely on each other they covered the ground in quick, nervous steps. On one side of them the river flowed, black and silent reflecting the lights on its surface; on the other the vendors still sold their goods, now unnoticed by the troubled pair.

Nor did they notice the slim boy quietly making his way through the crowd towards them. Not until he stood before them did they sense danger, and by then it was far too late.

Ester stumbled slightly as Abel seized her arm and brought them abruptly to a halt. Having regained her balance she looked up to see the reason, and felt as if someone, somehow, had encased her heart in ice. She stared at the well-known, beautiful but cruel face that in turn stared at her, the angelic features twisted in a bitter sneer.

"Dietrich..."

"Hello Ester. It's been so long. How are you?"

She hesitated, confused by the obviously fake attempt at casualness, and Abel moved protectively in front of her, glaring at the young man. "What do you want?"

"Oh how rude! That's no way to greet an old friend," His grin sharpened suddenly. "Or have I interrupted something, hmm? What could a man and a young woman possibly be doing, wandering out here _alone_...?"

Ester blushed and turned her head away in shamed confusion, reflecting on how completely different things had been to what Dietrich was implying. Well aware of the danger of responding to such taunts, Abel refused to be distracted.

"That's none of your business."

But Dietrich had caught Ester's movement, and instantly (and incorrectly) assumed that he had been right. Barely recognised jealousy burned inside him; jealousy not for Ester herself, but for the relationship he believed she had, and that he was denied. Forcing himself under control, without stopping to consider the consequences, he acted.

Alarm bells had been ringing in Abel's head for some time now. Something was off, wrong, out of place. Dietrich was acting even more pyscho than usual, and there was a glint in his eyes that bespoke ill for the two of them. He was not surprised, therefore, when Dietrich suddenly lashed out and attacked him. Unfortunately, he did not realise that the youth was feinting. Moving to block the strike, he was slightly disconcerted when it did not come. The terran dashed past him on the other side, Abel spun to follow- and froze.

About 10 paces behind him stood Dietrich, with an unconscious Ester in his arms, his strings wound about her body.

"Let her go."

"No."

"Let her go!"

"No."

Starting to back slowly away, Dietrich grinned, enjoying the crusnik's distress.

"You'll never find her..."

Abel stepped forward quickly. "No! Dietrich, don't you dare! Get back here!"

But he was already gone, melting into the crowd with practised ease, leaving behind only the echo of a mocking laugh.

Two hours later, Abel was out of ideas and on the verge of panic. He had searched that entire part of the city, questioned every person he met, and still no sign of either Ester or Dietrich. How far could he have gone? _Where_ would he have gone? About to return to the Vatican for reinforcements, the emergency radio contact on his coat began to beep urgently. Cursing himself for forgetting to use it in the first place, he switched it on.

"Caterina?"

"_Where are you Abel?? The Vatican is under attack! The Order of Rosencreutz somehow managed to get past all security- Von Kaempfer is causing devastation!"_

Isaak von Kaempfer! Of course, if anyone could find Dietrich he would be able to.

"Hang on. I'll be there as soon as I possibly can."

Replacing the contact he turned on his heel and sped off in the direction of the Vatican, goal fixed firmly in mind. _Find Kaempfer. And then find Ester._

* * *

A little earlier in the day, the Rosencreutz Orden were placing the final touches on their plan of surprise attack. Preparations were well underway and little comment had been made on Dietrich's prolonged absence; although Cain had raised a disapproving eyebrow when informed of the missing boy, only one person appeared to notice it at all.

Isaak was lounging moodily in a corner, eyes fixed blankly on the wall, immersed in his own thoughts. He had said that he was waiting for Cain's arrival, and the group of people clustered on the other side of the room didn't dare to question him. In fact, they had already approached him several times in the last half hour, impatient to leave, but they had been snapped at and had retreated in disorder. And though they whispered rebelliously to each other, none would defy the mage and leave without permission.

Fortunately, their patience was not tested for much longer. About 10 minutes later Cain swept into the room, demanding to know why they were still there. All blame was immediately placed on Isaak; they had wanted to leave, but von Kaempfer had insisted on waiting... He silenced them with a wave of his hand and turned a questioning gaze on Isaak, who rose gracefully from his seat and bowed respectfully.

"I merely wished to be sure that the first half of operations had gone as planned, my lord. No good can come of blindly charging forwards without correct intelligence. Also to know if you had any further instructions."

Cain smiled blandly, rather as one would when gently reprimanding a favourite child. "The reports came in quite half an hour ago. Everything is going very smoothly. You may- what was it? Oh yes, charge forwards- with perfect impunity."

The mage bowed once more. He took a few steps, then hesitated and turned back. "Would you happen to have seen Dietrich, my lord? He should have been here."

"No doubt he has gone ahead." Cain frowned. "That boy has been disregarding orders of late. Be sure to discipline him, won't you."

"Yes, my lord." And though the crease between his brows had deepened, Isaak strode from the room confidently, followed by a company clad in the distinctive purple and gold uniform of the Empire.

Moving at high speed it took them barely 15 minutes to reach the outer Vatican walls, where earlier that morning first Isaak, then other members of the group who were also skilled in security systems, had been working to insert a loop into the circuits. This loop was now lying dormant, waiting with the rest of them for the right moment. When activated, it would continuously replay the last 5 minutes of video back to whoever was watching it, creating the illusion that no one was present in the buildings who shouldn't be. Of course, it wouldn't last very long- there was only so many times a camera could show something before someone became suspicious, but it would be long enough to open the doors of the Vatican to the Rosencreutz. A.K.A the soldiers of the Empire. Because every member of the attack force wore Imperial uniform.

Cain watched them go, a cruel smile twisting his lips. _What a pleasant surprise for my dear brother. Perhaps I should have told them to sing happy birthday... _

Rather ironically, he did not realise that it was his own birthday too.

* * *

Father Havel was enjoying a quiet stroll through the Vatican gardens. It wasn't often he got the chance to simply relax, but now that all the frenzied but secret activity for Abel's birthday party was over and the Rosencreutz seemed to be miraculously lying low, he finally had a little time to himself.

No cataclysmic happenings, no people trying to destroy the world- now this was the good life. The AX was almost redundant. He wondered how long it would last.

The answer was approximately 45 seconds.

A snapping twig was all the warning he got before what appeared to be one of the Empire's assassins sprung through the nearby hydrangea and lunged at him, murderous claws fully extended.

Saved by the speed of his reflexes, Havel managed to avoid the attack and strike back at his assailant. It was with shock that he took in the distinctive uniform. He stood frozen for a moment before his mind processed what was happening, then spun on his heel. And froze again. On the wall above him two other assassins were preparing to launch their own assault. Taking the side route out of the courtyard, Havel avoided them and dashed down the path, intent upon warning Caterina and the rest of the AX.

"_We're under attack! We're under attack by the Empire!!"_

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Any (please constructive) comments would be appreciated :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four is finally finished despite all the attempts of my computer to destroy, delete or otherwise corrupt it... **

* * *

"I told you!"

Cardinal Francesco was in his element. Pacing up and down the stone chamber before his sister and the Pope, his long red cloak sweeping the floor industriously behind him, he continued to rant impressively.

"Did I not warn you that the vampires were not to be trusted? Didn't I say that they would turn on us, and stab us in the back? It is your blindness and naivety that has brought us here, Caterina. It was you who insisted on a treaty with those creatures, you who believed that we could have peace while evil, bloodthirsty demons ran free on our streets. I warned you, your Holiness. I said it was a mistake, that it would never last. And now you see that I was right!"

Pope Alessandro attempted futilely to stem the tide. "Please, brother, is this really..."

He trailed off as the Cardinal paid him no heed.

"There is only one answer. The vampires must be completely exterminated. This is clearly an act of war! Do you see now, Caterina? You must see, your Holiness! We must retaliate! We must strike back!!"

By and large ignored despite the accusations leveled at her, Caterina sighed and struggled to suppress her frustration, reflecting, and not for the first time, how glad she was that her half brother was unaware that Seth had come to visit the Vatican for her brother's birthday. The Duchess had long since tuned out Francesco's raving and was longing to return to the battle scene. What, she thought, was the point of calling me here for this? There are so many questions that need answering, so much I need to know, but I'm stuck here wasting time. Why would the Empire send assassins? The Empress herself is here in the Vatican- she was perfectly happy earlier. How did they get inside the walls? Where is Abel? Is this the act of a rebel force? Or.. Could it be...?

Elsewhere in the Vatican grounds, Fathers Hugue and Leon were fully engaged in preventing one of several invasion forces from penetrating further into the complex. The sun had long since gone down, and lights from windows and lanterns enabled them to see some of their enemies, but there seemed to be an awful lot of vampires hidden in the darkness. Both fathers were extremely suspicious that all was not as it seemed.

"Why on earth are there so many?!" Father Leon exclaimed, sending the ?th assassin flying back into the midst of its fellows, only to watch it get back up on its feet again. "And what does it take to kill these guys?"

Father Hugue said nothing, instead retreating slowly away, tempting an overbold vampire into chasing after him. With a few well placed slashes, the vampire fell to the ground in several pieces.

"Cut them apart, huh?"

Again Hugue said nothing.

Leon raised his throwing stars and grinned wolfishly. "Alright vampires, let's see you throw off this!"

The vampires began backing away into the darkness behind them, shooting what could pass for nervous looks at their slain comrade.

"Scared already?" Leon prepared to pursue them, but caught a ticking sound coming from nearby that sounded familiar. In fact, it sounded almost like a... "What's that?" he demanded sharply, "Where's it coming from?"

He glanced around, but Hugue had already identified the source. Kneeling beside the dead vampire's torso, he ripped its cloak off to reveal a set of deadly looking devices that were equipped with a timer, which was slowly counting down 10, 9, 8, 7… "Get back!!" He yelled, breaking his own unconscious vow of silence as he leapt away from the corpse, dragging Leon with him. They barely made it a few metres away before the bombs exploded.

Debris scattered everywhere. The two fathers were thrown back into a flower garden, which broke their fall. Their fall also broke the flowers. Those vampires who were thrown into their fellows fared much the same as Leon and Hugue, although some were impaled by flying claws or pierced by knives slashing wildly in the chaos. The other vampires thrown into the wall shared the fate of the aforementioned flowers. Dust went everywhere as the wall next to the bombs exploded, covering everyone with rubble. One flying piece left a graze down the side of Leon's cheek before he regained enough presence of mind to raise his arms to protect his head.

Five minutes later reinforcements had arrived and both sides were slowly recovering use of their wits. Pedro pulled Leon to his feet as Hugue staggered up beside him, approximately half an inquisition squad covering them should the vampires return to the assault. Some of them also had torches. "Pedro? What's going on? How's the rest of the Vatican holding up? Have the assassins got through anywhere? Why are there so _many?_"

Pedro raised his weapon, turning to face the regathering hordes. "So far we have managed to hold them off, and not one cursed vampire has entered the Vatican building. As to their numbers, I believe your Professor figured it out. If we can push them back far enough, some kind of heathen magic circle should be revealed. It seems to be multiplying their numbers tenfold. If it is destroyed, then the rest can be easily defeated."

Leon grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

* * *

Meanwhile Father Havel was striding swiftly down the corridor that led to the council chambers, where Caterina was currently engaged, bearing important news. He burst into the room without ceremony, interrupting Francesco in mid rant. Naturally, the cardinal did not take kindly to this. "Caterina, can't you control your.."

"My lady, I have urgent information to report," Havel began, apparently unaware that he had just interrupted Cardinal Francesco for the second time in the 30 seconds he had been in the room. "Father Wordsworth has discovered that the assassins are not real vampires, as previously thought, but reanimated vampire corpses. There is no way they could have come from the empire- that was just a clever disguise. In fact, we are under attack by Rosencreutz."

The room went silent for the first time since the 'council' had began. Caterina recovered first.

"You're sure of this?"

"Certain. After we figured it out, Rosencreutz members started to appear. We're not just fighting mindless corpses anymore."

"How are the defences holding up? Where's Abel? Does he…?"

"Abel is currently out in the city, my lady, with Sister Ester. They haven't returned yet. As for the defences- well…" He gestured to the southern window. Caterina swiftly crossed the room and peered out, followed closely by Francesco. Outside they could see Inquisition Squad members trying to fight off the attacks of shadow demons; ugly red creatures that attacked fast and viciously, and whenever they were cut down simply seemed to rise again. Further back they could make out Isaak von Kaempfer, illuminated by the magical light streaming from his hands, a confident grin on his face as he recreated demon after demon.

Turning on her heel, Caterina all but ran from the room, down the corridor and into to her own study, ignoring her brother's cries of "Where do you think you're going?" that followed her along with Father Havel. Seizing a radio contact from her desk, she activated it and waited impatiently for it to reach Father Abel.

_ "Caterina?"_

"Where are you Abel?? The Vatican is under attack! The Order of Rosencreutz somehow managed to get past all security- Von Kaempfer is causing devastation!"

There was a slight pause before she heard his answering voice.

_"Hang on. I'll be there as soon as I can."_

The contact went dead and she replaced it slowly on the desk, thinking hard. "Are all our forces employed, Havel?"

"Yes, my lady. The Empress and her entourage have the northern wall under control, but the others are struggling. So far it's all we can do to hold them off."

"But why is that? Surely we outnumber them?"

"That's not counting these undead assassins. There aren't just heaps of them; they're being magically replaced. For each one we kill, two more appear. We've managed to destroy one of the spells that was doing it, but there are still at least three more."

"Then I suppose we'll just have to hold on until Abel gets here and someone manages to destroy the others."

* * *

Abel flew through the city like a bullet, heading straight for the Vatican. He briefly considered flying, but discarded the idea on the grounds of not wanting to waste energy. He had a feeling he'd need it for the coming battle. As he neared the gates, the unmistakable sounds of fighting filled the air. His eyes became blurred by smoke and dust, his feet clattered over stones and rubble on the street and the copper smell of blood, both vampire and human, invaded his nose. Praying desperately that he wasn't too late, Abel hurtled round the last corner, almost colliding into the back of a group of perhaps ten vampires from behind, and skidded to a halt. He steadied himself and saw that they were preparing to launch an assault on a small force of Vatican guards, who stood their ground bravely although they were outnumbered.

Drawing out his gun, Abel took down the three vampires closest to him before they even realized what was going on. The others turned in confusion, he took one step back and fired again; another two fell to the ground. Cheered by the arrival of reinforcements, the Vatican guards rushed forward into the fray. Caught on two sides, the remaining five vampires panicked and tried to escape, but were cut down before they could get away.

The guards turned to thank and congratulate their rescuer but were left standing as Abel again took to his heels and sped through their midst and further into the Vatican grounds.

It was one hour and several minor (and one major) skirmishes later that Abel finally found the target of his search. Isaak was leaning against the crumbled wall of what used to be a Vatican garden, idly watching his summoned demons take on the Inquisition Squad when the priest found him. He was startled from his reverie by the slash of Abel's blade effortlessly cutting through the creatures, and looked up to see the crusnik standing before him with wings outstretched, eyes a dangerous red and spiked weapon in hand.

"To what do I owe this pleasure? I haven't seen you around all evening, Father Nightroad. And here I thought you were ignoring us." The mage smirked lazily, simply trying to provoke the already furious crusnik into attacking. He expected a snarl of rage, or perhaps a demand that he give up, or even to be arrested, however futilely amusing that might be. What he didn't expect was the answer he received.

"Where is Dietrich?!"

Isaak blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said, where is Dietrich? Answer me!"

"I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea. He probably has better things to do." Despite his casual words, Isaak felt a little uneasy- Dietrich _was _missing. And now a Vatican agent was demanding his whereabouts. This sounded bad. "May I ask the reason for this inquiry?"

Abel glared and took a few steps forward threateningly. "Don't play games with me, von Kaempfer! _Where is Dietrich? _And where has he taken Ester??!"

For a second Isaak's mind froze. Then it went into overdrive. _Ester- _that little red-haired nun Dietrich had taken a fancy to in Istvan He'd thought Dietrich had been over that obsession long ago, but apparently, if he was to believe what he'd just been told, he had been mistaken. What felt like a thousand emotions were chasing each other through his head, the foremost of which he refused to acknowledge- jealousy and hurt. Struggling to retain his composure lest the crusnik before him sense a weakness, he played for time to think by repeating the question.

"Where has he taken Ester?"

"_You heard me!_"…Uh oh... Abel was furious. Apparently Dietrich wasn't the only one with an obsession for this Ester. A part of Isaak vaguely supposed Cain would want to know that- it even thought the information might be important. But it was a very small part, and the rest of him was growing steadily more and more angry. While he'd been waiting for the young man, delaying his mission, worried and risking Cain's wroth, Dietrich had gone off chasing some girl. Not just any girl, but one they'd already argued about before. He well recalled the fights they'd had over her, and he had been a little touched when Dietrich had promised to forget her- but apparently the terran had been lying. As for where he would have taken her, well that was as obvious as the rest. Where else but that old ruined castle he was so fond of, the place he always went to when he desired solitude. Almost no one knew that it existed, let alone how to find it.

But it was a bad time to be lost in the land of memory, something he was forcefully reminded of when Abel leapt at him, power massing and striking in attack. Isaak managed to block with his shield and backed away warily, still unsure of what he should do.

"Tell me where they are, or I'll run you through!"

Another time Isaak might have laughed at the threat, might have prepared for battle or tried to taunt Abel further- right now he was most certainly not in the mood. Acting on anger (it _was_ anger, he told himself, he simply wanted revenge for Dietrich's betrayal. He refused to feel jealousy over a worthless_ terran_), he made a snap decision. If he'd been paying attention, he would have known it was not a good day for snap decisions.

"Probably north, by Sarace River." Isaak was surprised at the bitterness in his voice and attempted to control it. "There's a castle there, just out of Rome- an old ruined building in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by holly oaks; not something you see very often these days, is it? It's falling apart of course, but I believe the dungeons are still intact. There's probably even a torture chamber there." And though he laughed, his hands were shaking.

Abel didn't bother to thank him, didn't stop to see how the rest of the battle was going, didn't even look back. His wings unfurled and beat powerfully, lifting him in the air where he whirled and headed north against the night sky. Surprised again, Isaak watched him go, wondering if he should feel satisfied that Dietrich would soon feel his revenge, or be impressed at the lengths the crusnik would go to save the one he loved.

He was not allowed to contemplate for long. This time he was disturbed by Helga running towards him. She scowled when she saw who it was but stopped anyway.

"We're falling back. They're gaining the upper hand, and they'll kill or capture us if we stay longer."

He raised an eyebrow at her cowardice- or was it intelligence? Or even incompetence. Some people made a distinction between them, but he had never been able to. "So soon? You didn't go easy on them, did you, Baroness?"

Glaring, she gestured behind her. "Of course I didn't! But this whole thing was just a waste of time. The Empress herself is here- I saw her earlier. There's no way _she_ would have fallen for the deception! Once they figured out how to destroy your reanimation circles, it was just a matter of time till they beat us off."

Once again in shock, Isaak stared at her. He was getting tired of surprises. "The Empress is here?"

She nodded. He smiled wryly.

_"Well now- that's ironic...."_

_

* * *

_

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fifth chapter finished. And now I have an awesome new laptop so no more excuses from that quarter. But in another, I've just moved out of home and started university. So far it's the most fun I've ever had! I decided to make bread today- can't wait till it's cooked! :) I hope you enjoy this.**

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At first there was nothing. The emptiness of a void darker than the night sky, simply because there were no stars to shine pinpricks of light into nothingness. But nature abhors a vacuum, and so consciousness slowly began to work its way back, as threads of memory relight themselves into the web that is called awareness.

Ester groaned softly as she came to, her head throbbing in protest and her body complaining of its stiff limbs. She tried to open her eyes, but it seemed to make no difference. Confused, she closed her eyes tightly and then opened them again. Still she could see nothing, make out nothing in the darkness that surrounded her. Accepting that sight was not going to help her, she turned to her another senses. She could feel hard stone beneath her- that was a start. The air was cold and damp on her skin. So she was in a stone room, underground? But where? She could hear faint sounds around her, but could not be sure whether they were from animals or people.

Sitting up slowly and carefully, Ester reached out her arms and turned in a circle, seeing if she could touch anything. Nothing met her fingers, however, and the only conclusion she could draw was that she wasn't near a wall. She sighed. How had she gotten into this mess again? Oh that's right- _Dietrich_.

She thought back to earlier in the day. Abel's birthday party, going out, walking through the festival, the argument... She shook her head resolutely, putting the hurt out of her mind. Dietrich had shown up, had been acting strangely- then he'd attacked, she remembered him coming straight at her... Then there was nothing. So he'd abducted her? Then where was he? For the that matter, where was _she_? She certainly didn't think she was in the Vatican.

Well she wasn't going to get anywhere if she just sat here waiting. Ester climbed slowly and carefully to her feet. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness now, and she could make out a lighter patch to her right that she assumed was a doorway. She picked her way over to it, walking painfully slowly and trying hard not to trip. But when she finally reached it, her outstretched hands brushed cold metal and then grasped onto steel bars. In the gloom beyond she could just make out a passage way leading to either side, but she could not reach it. She was trapped.

Above ground, where moonlight cast shadows on broken stone, chapel bells struck midnight in the distance and an owl hooted softly from his perch in a ruined tower, Dietrich sat curled against a shadowed wall, head supported on crossed arms, staring at nothing. Half of him was waiting for the scream that would tell him Ester had awoken. The other half was wondering what he was going to with her when she did.

He hated to admit it, but when he'd kidnapped Ester, he'd been acting solely out of spite. Now that he'd got this far, he had no idea what to do next. He wanted to cause her pain, couldn't stand the fact that she could be happy when he was suffering. Part of him pointed out that she hadn't been happy when he'd seen her- quite the opposite in fact. _You just made bad worse, _it told him. _And now what are you going to do?_ It was a small, annoying voice in his head that he was quite sure he could do without. Isaak called it a conscience, he remembered.

So what was he going to do? Would he go back to the headquarters, back to Lord Cain, back to Isaak? Isaak, who obviously didn't want him? No- Dietrich had more pride than that. He'd leave, forget about Isaak and the whole damn Rosencreutz and make a new life somewhere. There his thoughts stopped for a moment, as the decision sank in. Yes, that's what he would do. No more being ordered around, no more being taken advantage of. He thought it should have sounded a lot more attractive than it did.

Dietrich sighed. He hated being in love.

Meanwhile, what was he going to do with Ester? He didn't want the girl- she was annoying, loud and infatuated with a priest of the Vatican. And Isaak would be furious if he found out about this. Not that it mattered now, but still....

He could hold her to ransom. On the positive side, if it worked it would get rid of the nun, and get him enough money to leave the city and never need to go near Rosencreutz again. On the negative side, if it didn't he would have to fight off the entire AX by himself, and that wasn't something he was keen on doing. Plus he'd have to somehow deliver a ransom note, and then arrange the whole complicated exchange while avoiding both Isaak and Cain. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

He could let her go. It would involve admitting (to himself, if no one else) that he'd made a mistake, but it was by far a simpler option. He could drop her somewhere in the city and then just leave. With his skills, it would be easy to find a job that would pay enough to support himself.

Or he could kill her. She would be out of the way permanently. He could be long gone by the time anyone in Rosencreutz thought to look for him, and only Isaak would ever think of going to the castle. Father Abel would never even find her body. It was the obvious, logical solution.

He had just convinced himself of this, was just rising to his feet, grim purpose in mind, when he heard a cry from below.

_"Hello? Is anybody there? Can anyone hear me?"_

Dietrich grinned. Perfect. She was awake.

He picked up the unlit candle he'd brought, struck a match and ignited the wick- but instead of shaking out the flame, he just stood there as if in a trance, watching it burn higher and higher along the thin wood until it touched his hand. Still he stood motionless, staring with nothing but faint curiosity in his eyes as his fingers began to burn. The skin twisted and began to bubble up in protest of such mistreatment. Finally the pain intruded on his mind and he shook it out, tossing the match away. The puppet master turned, crossed the courtyard and descended into the darkness, holding the flickering candle before him.

He did not notice the form silhouetted in the sky behind him.

* * *

It was nearly midnight when Abel reached the northern border of Rome. He spotted the Sarace River easily enough, and flew above it, following the winding silver length of sparkling water north, eyes searching for any sign of a castle. He didn't take long to find it.

The castle was, indeed, hard to miss; towers jutting into the heavens as if they were trying to touch the very moon that shone down upon them now, bathing them in a soft dull light. Somewhere behind him the bells of a nearby church started to chime. Abel banked and circled above, losing height as he attempted to discern any sign of light or human life in the darkness of the ruined building. He saw none, and the suspicion that von Kaempfer had been lying, which had been growing with every minute he flew, seemed to become a certainty. He cursed himself for being in such a hurry to find Ester that he would accept information without hesitation, especially when given so easily by an enemy.

Then, just as he was debating whether to land in castle and search it anyway, or to return to the Vatican and try to find the Panzier Magier again, a light flickered below him. Instantly his wings stopped beating, and he hovered in the sky, trying to make out who or what held the small flame. It remained motionless for perhaps a minute, then made its way slowly in one direction, then disappeared. Abel wondered for a moment if its owner had seen him and blown out the light, but then remembered that von Kaempfer had mentioned dungeons. Dungeons were usually underground. He waited a few minutes, just to be sure, and then floated silently down into the rubble-filled courtyard.

His feet touched the ground with a soft _crunch_. He banished his wings, waiting for his eyes to grow accustomed to the gloom of the castle and locating a passage which led down underground, presumably to the dungeons, and, if he was lucky, to Ester. He could still see the faint glimmers of a candle at the end where the passage turned a corner. Abel readied his gun and followed cautiously after the bearer of the flame.

* * *

Back at the Rosencreutz headquarters, Isaak paced his room angrily. At least, that's what he told himself. He was _angry_ with Dietrich- not worried, anxious, jealous, and he was most certainly _not_ feeling guilty.

Part of Isaak thought he should be feeling pleased. After all, Cain had been surprisingly accepting of the reported failure. Perhaps he felt that the damage they had caused the Vatican was sufficient, but he had even taken Seth's involvement with amusement rather than anger. That part of Isaak thought he should forget the terran boy and leave him to deal with the mess he'd gotten himself into.

This was the same part of him which thought that Cain and Rosencreutz should come before his own personal attraction to Dietrich, the same part that had prompted him to brush the young man off that very morning. It was a very small part, but it seemed to be ruling him a lot lately. Isaak was getting sick of it. After all, he _had_ been unfeeling to Dietrich- there had been no need to snap at him earlier, and no need to deny his request that they visit the festival. And the terran was so sensitive; he often forgot that. Dietrich made the most trivial comment seem like the end of the world. It often became frustratingly tiresome, but that was just Dietrich.

So he'd gone off without permission, seeking consolation from a red-haired girl that Isaak despised. Perhaps it was his own fault, for not paying him enough attention. Even if it wasn't, did that really justify sending an infuriated crusnik after him? The annoying part of him raised its head again, suggesting that Dietrich should have thought of that before kidnapping the girl. Another part pointed out that he probably thought Abel wouldn't be able to find him. Which he wouldn't have, if Isaak hadn't told him where to go.

... Great. Now he was arguing with himself.

Because Dietrich would never survive the confrontation. Isaak knew that, just as he knew that going after him would be foolish. He himself could not defeat the crusnik. If Abel had chosen to stay and fight him earlier, eventually his only option would have been escape. But at least he could escape. Dietrich would not have that ability.

Abel had been furious. He was probably already at the castle. Dietrich might already be dead.

Isaak froze, his hand instinctively grasping the back of a chair.

_Dietrich might already be dead._

He crossed to the window with swift, sharp strides and stared out into the night, vaguely noting that somewhere, a bell was chiming. _'It must be midnight...'_

He remembered how determined Father Nightroad had been earlier. The man had known exactly what he wanted, and had wasted no time in going after it. Isaak felt a little envious.

He wished he knew what he wanted.

* * *

The darkness was suffocating her. No one answered her cry for help, and Ester was debating her next move when she heard the footsteps echoing slowly down the passage way, coming towards her. There was an ominous quality to the hollow sound, and she instinctively backed away from the bars. Her foot tripped on something unseen and she fell backwards, landing painfully on the uneven surface. She scrambled to her feet again and continued to work backwards until she bumped into a wall. It was cold and slick beneath her hands, and she pressed herself against it, waiting in growing terror as the footsteps came closer and closer.

She could see a light now, glancing off walls and illuminating the dull gray stone. She could make out the room she stood in- a small unremarkable prison cell with stone walls, stone floor and stone ceiling. What she had tripped on before seemed to be bones. Human bones. She shivered.

Bright light penetrated the bars and spread across the floor, alighting on her figure. Her eyes, which had just started to get used to the dark, complained at the sudden brightness and she raised a hand to shield them. Ester peered through her fingers, hoping against hope to see Father Abel, or anyone from the Vatican.

Her heart sank as she took in Dietrich's form, standing mockingly on the other side of her cell's bars. The look on his face sent tremors of fear down her spine.

"What's going on? Why have you brought me here!?" She demanded, bravely trying not to show her fear. It was a pointless struggle. Her body was shaking so badly she could barely stand upright, and had to lean against the wall to avoid losing her balance.

Oddly enough, Dietrich didn't seem to notice. At least, he didn't bother taunting her by pointing it out. He seemed strangely sober and determined. There was no smile on his face, no jeering remark on his lips. He just stared at her for a moment, then lifted his empty hand. The other still held the candle, casting flickering shadows around them.

"What are you doing?" Ester's eyes were wide with terror. "Dietrich? What... Arggkk...!!"

She gasped as thin strings coiled round her neck, wrapping tightly and cutting off her air supply. Her hands scrabbled desperately to pull them loose as they began to choke her.

She managed to worm her fingers underneath a few, but Dietrich simply pulled them tighter and blood started to trickle down her skin where the strings cut through flesh. Her eyes stared at him desperately, pleadingly, as she slowly began suffocate.

Dietrich stood on the other side of the bars, a calm expression on his face, watching her tranquilly.

"Goodbye, Ester."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Only one chapter left. I can't believe how long it took me to write this... I never really appreciated how much harder it is to end a story than it is to start it! At least university is over for the year, so I have plenty of time to finish it. I hope. **

* * *

_Sometimes late at night..._

Isaak stared up at the sky and tried to distract himself. He tried to count the different stars and to name them; there was Orion, Sirius, Arcturus. There were the Pleiades, the Hyades and Betelgeuse; Rigel and the Crab Nebula. A little to the south of Orion was the Jewel Box- not very clear to the naked eye but through a telescope it looked very beautiful. Dietrich had always liked that one.

...

"_Damn."_

_ I lie awake and watch her sleeping._

Father Havel stood outside the door to Caterina's office. He was leaning against the frame, head bent and eyes closed. Inside he knew that the Duchess of Milan was sitting at her desk, unmoving but for her eyes, which blinked to hold back the threatening tears. Tears of worry for the missing AX members, Abel and Ester. He knew he couldn't comfort her, knew that she wouldn't be comforted until the pair returned safely. So he watched over her, just as she watched and waited patiently for their return.

_ She's lost in peaceful dreams, so I turn out the light_

In a crisp white bed lay Astaroache, unconscious with bandages tightly wrapped around her arms and torso. Her eyes were closed and her face was serene, and the doctors weren't worried about her. She would survive, they said, the wounds weren't too deep and vampires don't die from cuts like that. Ion sat beside her, uncomforted, worried about Ester but unable to leave the Countess alone after she had taken the blow that was meant for him.

_ And lay there in the dark._

Curled up in a large chair that dwarfed her small form, Seth stared out the window. Her eyes were dull and lifeless. She didn't notice the footsteps passing swiftly outside her door, nor the people outside her window, nor the inquiring nuns who poked their heads around the corner, offering food or drink. She simply watched and waited.

_And the thought crosses my mind..._

Brother Pedro and Sister Paula were in charge of the cleaning up. All the injured had to be taken to the hospital wing and any casualties taken to the morgue to be prepared for burial. Rubble had to be cleared away as best they could and major damages, like the hole through the outer wall, had to be repaired immediately. It was a scene of organised chaos, and provided Pedro with plenty of scope for shouting at the top of his voice. But inside they felt sick. The damage the Vatican had taken would take months to fully repair, and the lives lost could never be replaced. And at the end, after they had driven away the enemy, what was there to show for such a sacrifice? What had they gained?

Nothing.

_If I never wake in the morning,_

Esther could feel herself dying. Her lungs were crying desperately for air and her sight was beginning to go black around the edges. Her fingers no longer had the strength to fight the strings that were choking her. Her thoughts went to Father Abel, and she wondered if he would miss her. If perhaps she would see him again someday in Heaven.

_Would she ever doubt _

_ the way I feel about her in my heart?_

Abel took a deep breath and forced himself to walk slowly down the corridor. He concentrated on each footstep, knowing that one false move in this rocky, half ruined passage would give away his presence. The candle-bearer he was following seemed to be gaining ground and it took all his willpower not to run after them. Esther's terrified face stared at him from the darkness around him, which wasn't helping at all. Finally the sounds of footsteps ahead ceased, and the light became stationary. And as Abel crept cautiously nearer, he heard her voice.

_ "What's going on? Why have you brought me here!"_

She sounded terrified, he reflected grimly. Dietrich was going to pay.

_ "What are you doing?_ _Dietrich? What... Arggkk...!"_

That didn't sound good. He started moving faster, but stepped on something which crunched beneath his foot. Abel froze, wondering if he'd been heard and hoping it wouldn't have disastrous consequences for Esther. He heard nothing, and was just about to start creeping forward again when he heard another voice. This one was male and young and unmistakably Dietrich's.

_ "Goodbye, Ester."_

The earth stopped spinning. Time stopped moving for the few moments it took Abel to grasp the meaning of those two cold words. It didn't take long. Throwing caution to the winds he flew around the last remaining corner, gun raised and finger quivering on the trigger. The sight he was confronted with confirmed his worst fears. Dietrich stood before a cell on the right side of the passage, a candle raised in one hand. On the other side of the old, rusty iron bars, Esther stood rigid with both hands grasping at her neck, her eyes wide with terror. Blood trickled in small, black rivulets down her throat. Even as he watched, the pupils of her eyes rolled sickeningly back into their sockets and her body went limp. But instead of falling to the ground, she continued to hang in the air like some puppet waiting for its master to pull the strings. The blood continued to flow.

_If tomorrow never comes..._

Dietrich started in shock at the sudden intrusion and barely managed to avoid the bullets that instead buried themselves in the wall behind him. He glanced frantically around him, mind scrambling to comprehend this new set of developments and coming up with bad news- he was trapped in a narrow corridor with a very angry crusnik who happened to be blocking the only way out. He knew that the passage behind him ended shortly in a fallen pile of rubble blocking off the rest of the dungeons so if he got caught there he would be very dead. He needed space to stay out of reach when fighting, so the only option was dashing past Abel and out into the courtyard. But how to accomplish it? He was holding the only source of light in his hand, so could vampires see in the dark?

By now Abel was in full crusnik form, eyes blood red and hair swirling behind him, but with only a gun in hand. Unfortunately for Dietrich, it would be just as deadly as the scythe if it managed to hit him.

He tried to dodge the next series of bullets but one caught him on the arm. The flesh felt as if it had been burned and blood began to flow almost instantly. He panicked. Dietrich hurled the candle at his attacker and dashed forwards, but Abel wasn't going to be caught by the same trick twice. Batting the candle away with one hand, he seized the young man's wounded arm with the other and hurled him back against the wall. Dietrich collided painfully and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

_ Would she know how much I love her?_

Abel felt a slight sense of malicious satisfaction on seeing the cocky puppetmaster go crashing into the hard stone wall, but didn't stop to finish him him off. Yanking a knife out of his belt, he ran to the bars of the cell where Esther still hung lifeless as a doll, slowly dying of asphyxiation and blood loss. He fumbled with the lock for a few moments before blasting it with the last few bullets left in his gun. The door swung open and he cast the gun aside, reaching Esther in a heartbeat and placing his hands on her neck. Sure enough, he found the thin, deadly strands of Dietrich's strings. They were pulled so tight that they had cut a circle through the skin all the way around her neck. They were also too tight to insert the knife underneath them, so he was forced to saw through them from the outside, a painfully slow task made so much worse by a total lack of response from the girl. Every time he cut through a string he had to stop his hand so the knife didn't go into her throat. And when he finished she crumpled into his arms, finally free from her cruel imprisonment but still just as lifeless as a doll.

_ Did I try in every way..._

Consciousness returned swiftly to Dietrich with the pounding of his head and the sharp sting of his arm where the bullet had grazed him. He staggered to his feet, raising his hands in front of his face to protect himself until his eyes could focus. When the world stopped spinning he saw Abel crouched on the ground inside Esther's cell, the young woman clasped in his arms. Happily, that meant the way was now clear to get out of this underground death trap and into a place where he could put up a good fight. He wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity, sprinting past the crusnik and up the corridor, slipping and stumbling on the gravel in the dark. Maybe he shouldn't have thrown that candle away...

Despite his poor human vision, Dietrich made it above ground without incident. The moon was bright above him and lit up whatever it touched. Mainly, this just made the shadows seem even darker, and as shadows took up more than half of the old ruin's interior, it was the perfect place to play hide and seek. He grinned.

_ To show her every day,_

Abel cradled Ester gently in his arms, trying to coax some life back into her blue lips and unmoving lungs. He was rewarded when she finally took a few gasping breaths, but she didn't regain consciousness. However she was now breathing regularly, so he thought he'd better take care of her assailant. But when he turned around, Dietrich was gone. Cursing himself for not paying more attention to his surroundings, Abel considered his options. He was in an underground passage beneath a ruined castle with an injured, unconscious young girl, without any source of light. His vision, while better than a human's, was not the greatest in total darkness. There was also the problem of a very dangerous young man on the loose- somewhere. Dietrich could have gone back up the passage, or he could have gone further down it. There was no way to tell. And if he left Esther to search in either direction, he risked going the wrong way and Dietrich returning to finish her off. Put like that, there really was only one choice.

Picking the girl up, he made his way carefully up the passage. He walked slowly, trying not to jolt her or trip, on alert for any attack. When he reached the end he paused and remained still for a full 10 minutes, trying to gauge the likelihood of any threat. He saw nothing, but didn't relax his guard as he slowly eased himself and Esther out of the mouth of the tunnel and into the fresh night air.

He had barely taken two steps before Dietrich struck. Razor-thin strings flew at him from in front and behind and it was only by diving to the left that he managed to avoid both, using his body as a shield to protect Esther. Abel rolled swiftly to his feet, unfurled his wings and took off into the air. His long hair swirled around him and his eyes glowed redder than blood, filled with a vicious anger. He retained sufficient presence of mind to carry his precious burden to a sturdy-looking broad ledge some 20 feet above the ground. Then he turned to face down the next attack and to search out and destroy the one who had dared to threaten the young woman he loved.

_ That she's my only one?_

Now that he was over his fright at Abel's totally unexpected appearance (and unexplained too, so perhaps he should look into that small but pertinent matter of just _how _an AX member had managed to find him), Dietrich was settling into battle mode. He had the advantage of terrain- he knew this area like the back of his hand. Not only that, but Abel was furious. Anger was an emotion that Dietrich knew very well how to exploit. It could be manipulated and turned against its owner. When people were angry, they didn't think things through properly. They fell into the traps you cleverly set for them- as long as you kept a cool head. Anger was a weakness- just like any other strong emotion. _Every_ other strong emotion. _Keep your mind on the job, Dietrich._

He glanced around to find his prey, and was rather amused to see the crusnik placing Esther on a ledge out of the way. _Guess he wants to fight unencumbered. Too bad it won't make a difference._

Gathering his strings in both hands, Dietrich sent them streaming in a swirling concert straight at his opponent. They caught Abel unawares, some wrapping around his arms and restraining him while others slashed across his chest and wings and still more cut viciously into his throat. He hung suspended in the air, struggling fiercely against the silver threads.

A satisfied smirk perched on Dietrich's lips as he tightened the threads around Abel's throat, expecting them to slice through the skin at any moment and the head to roll from its shoulders onto the cold damp floor, long silver hair trailing behind. He was disappointed however when the crusnik's talons ripped through the deadly strands and his opponent sprang free of the trap. The scythe swung three times in fierce rhythm, waves of ruby power cascading down at the puppet-master. Dietrich avoided most of them, but one ripped through his leg, causing agony to shoot through his nervous system. He stumbled and lost his balance, falling from his foothold high on the ruined walls to the second floor of the castle. Steeling himself for the jolt of pain upon landing, he rolled to reduce the shock and managed to slip into the shadows out of Abel's sight.

_ And if my time on earth were through..._

As Dietrich vanished into the darkness, Abel flew after him with weapon raised. But unfortunately for him this part of the castle was still relatively intact and used to be the servants' quarters. There were many passages and corridors leading up and down, many of them partially broken and collapsed but still quite traversable. All of them were either partly or completely hidden by the darkness. There was no sign of Dietrich. After hunting fruitlessly for a good five minutes, Abel remembered that he had left Esther unconscious and helpless behind him and froze in horror. He spun around and dashed back to the courtyard, taking off into the air and swooping back to the ledge where he'd placed her.

To his great relief he found her safe and sound, untouched by Dietrich or anyone else. So where was Dietrich? He must have hidden himself in the ruins somewhere, probably planning his next attack. But while he might know the area better than Abel, he didn't have a crusnik's hearing- or that sense for blood. And the young human was bleeding both from his shoulder and leg, leaving a trail no vampire- or crusnik- could miss, once they actually calmed down and thought about it. Abel closed his eyes, calmed down and concentrated.

There he was. In the north-west tower, on the third floor. The scent was unmistakable, and Abel's sensitive ears picked up the scraping of a wounded leg against stone. He readied his scythe and took flight once again, gliding silently into the shadows around the base of the tower and spiraling upwards, so as not to lose the element of surprise. He approached the third floor from the opposite side. The wall on that side had caved in, leaving a gaping hole facing outwards into the surrounding trees. Abel caught a glimpse of white skin and gleaming eyes in the moonlight, and sent the most powerful blast he was capable of squarely into the tower.

Stone shattered in a deafening explosion as rubble flew everywhere. The whole top half of the tower was completely destroyed, and a good deal of it was blown back into the rest of the castle, knocking over even more of the old ruin, although Abel had been careful to aim the blow away from Esther's resting place. Dust rose and covered the whole area. When it cleared enough for the ground to become visible, he saw Dietrich lying on the ground, half buried in debris, blood trickling down his face from many small cuts and clothes torn and dirty.

Abel landed in front of him, wings folding into his back and scythe poised in one hand. Dietrich raised his head slowly, and Abel noted the defiance and hatred in his eyes. The young man's hand flicked out but Abel was ready for him and cut away the threads. He glared threateningly downwards, eyes flashing dangerously.

"You tried to kill Esther."

Dietrich just stared at him, breath coming in ragged pants. Abel felt his temper rising again.

"_Why?_"

The puppet-master attempted a mocking smile. At least, that's what Abel thought he was trying to do. It came out more like a snarling grimace of pain.

"Because I felt like it."

The simple arrogance of that statement, the callous unconcern for all the pain and suffering he had caused and the total lack of repentance evident was more than enough to send Abel over the edge again. Perhaps if he had been calmer he might have thought it was remarkable stupid (and unlike Dietrich) to be making taunts in such a situation. Perhaps he would have seen the display of bravado for what it was; the impulsive desire of a young man who had despaired of life, wishing to end everything and escape the consequences that must occur now that he had failed in his attempt at freedom.

But he did not think of this, and it is debatable whether knowing that Dietrich wished to die would have stayed his hand at that point. Abel's own vow had been forgotten since his attack on the tower, all thoughts of mercy dispelled by his anger at the attempt on Esther's life. In his thought for her he became again an avenging angel, with a mind only to destroy those who sought to harm the one he loved.

And so he raised his scythe, and brought it crashing down on the one who had caused his love to suffer. The waves of red engulfed Dietrich in seconds and consumed him. Or so he thought. For when the dust cleared for the second time, Abel found himself facing an unexpected enemy. Isaak von Kämpfer stood before him, hands outstretched to protect himself and Dietrich from Abel's attack.

_And she must face this world without me,_

Isaak had reached the old ruined castle far quicker than either Abel or Dietrich, simply because he could, in a sense, teleport. It had taken him much longer to convince himself to actually interfere. There had been no one in sight when he first arrived there, but he had taken up a post in the southern tower, which provided him with an excellent vantage point and had the added bonus of being intact, and soon enough his vigil was rewarded when Dietrich stumbled from from an underground passage into the courtyard. He was bleeding from the shoulder but seemed otherwise unharmed, and Isaak, who had feared him already dead, almost collapsed in relief. Dietrich however seemed to be fearing pursuit, and swiftly hid himself among the shadows. A few minutes later another figure appeared from the same tunnel. The long silver hair marked him unmistakably as Abel Nightlord, and he seemed to be carrying a red-haired young woman in his arms. Isaak guessed this must be Esther, though he'd never actually met her himself. Maybe that was a mistake. If he'd gone to find the girl and just killed her straight off when Dietrich had first been infatuated with her, all this trouble could have been avoided. Too late for that now.

He watched as Dietrich and Abel fought. The battle only lasted a short while before Dietrich retreated once more into the shelter of the castle, wounded and bleeding, more seriously this time. Isaak traced his path towards the northern tower, but Abel lost him and, after a moment of hesitation, returned to the unconscious girl he'd left on a ledge. Thinking that the crusnik intended to take the girl back to the Vatican and abandon the fight, Isaak allowed his attention to wander as he contemplated how to retrieve Dietrich and return to the Rosencreutz headquarters without raising unnecessary complications. He was recalled to the situation at hand when a thunderous crash echoed over the countryside, followed by the sound of falling stone.

Abel, who was apparently not as dumb as he looked, had found Dietrich's hiding place and blasted it apart. Isaak could only watch in horror as the Crusnik swooped on the boy who lay wounded and dazed amid the rubble on the ground.

He had never intended to interfere in the fight between Abel and Dietrich. He didn't give a damn about the girl they were fighting over, and committing suicide protecting a Terran who was in love with someone else was definitely not high on his list of things to do. But he was unable to bear the sight of Dietrich- _his _Dietrich- about to be annihilated by the attack of a maddened Crusnik. So he acted, and teleported himself from his tower to stand between Dietrich and his death, confident his shield would be enough to stop an attack that expected no resistance.

_ Is the love I gave her in the past..._

Dietrich closed his eyes as Abel swung his blade up and back, preparing to unleash the assault. He heard the rush of power through the air, smelt the smoke from where it met the stone and raised the dust so recently settled, but the blow he expected never came. It stopped about six feet in front of him, and he felt it flowing around him, but it never touched him. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a figure standing before him. Wearing a long cloak, the Rosencreutz armband and with long black hair, it could only be...

"...Isaak...?"

The mage glanced back at him for a moment, usually implacable face twisted into a strange expression. When he spoke, his words, though harsh in meaning, were gentle.

"How about you be quiet for a while, and not make things any worse than they already are?"

Dietrich obediently held his tongue, and climbed shakily to his feet, unsure of what to do. Had Isaak come to rescue him? Or just to punish him for his rebellion?

As he hesitated, torn between hope and fear, Abel's surprise at the new arrival swiftly turned to fury as he jumped to the conclusion that he had been tricked.

"_YOU!" _ he snarled, "I should have known you'd planned this between you! Is that why you sent me here? Was any word you spoke at the Vatican the truth?"

"I fail to see how you could reasonably expect me to tell _you_ the truth..." Isaak began, but Dietrich interrupted him.

_ "You _sent him here?" he demanded, "You told him where to find me?"

Isaak turned to look at him. "Dietrich..."

But the terran was backing away from him. "How could you? _How could you?"_

_Gonna be enough to last,_

By now Abel was very confused. Isaak von Kämpfer seemed to have some kind of strong connection with Dietrich that Abel couldn't quite figure out. He recalled how strangely Dietrich had acted when they had first encountered him that night by the river, and wondered if this was the reason; if somehow von Kämpfer was, unconsciously, the reason the boy had kidnapped Esther. But that sounded ridiculous even in his mind, for how could that possibly make sense? Maybe he was just going crazy.

"What do you want?"

Isaak looked at him and blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"I said, what do you want? Why did you kidnap Esther? Is this the new grand plan of Contra Mundi, kidnapping nuns?"

Abel asked impatiently, watching the other closely, trying to determine if he would tell the truth. He got the impression that the mage was thinking quickly.

"Oh.. About that... Well that was.. a... miscommunication. Yes. Orders got a little mixed up- I'm sure you of all people can appreciate that. Dietrich was supposed to be at the Vatican with the main force earlier." Isaak turned to glare at the young man behind him, who was biting back a smile at the obvious fabrication.

Now it was Abel's turn to blink. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Isaak transferred his glare. "Do I look like a therapist? Just take the girl and go."

"What?"

"I said, take the girl and go. I don't want her, and I never want to see her face again. So if you could kindly remove both of your highly unwanted presences it would be much appreciated. Of course, if you don't want her, I'm sure I have a pet somewhere that could do with feeding."

Abel glared at him, torn between wanting to finish both of them and the desire to get Esther to safety. "You're mad. I should arrest both of you."

Isaak sighed. "I do believe we've been through that already. But by all means, waste another hour of my time. I'm sure your comrades at the Vatican will forgive you for such a late appearance."

The comment made Abel pause for a second. He had no idea how things had played out back at the Vatican. What if they needed his help?

Isaak noticed his indecision and pounced on it. "I certainly hope Lady Caterina doesn't mind losing a few friends."

At this opportune moment, Esther began to stir.

_If tomorrow never comes?_

_

* * *

_**Thank you for reading. Please leave a review :)**_  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**I finished it! I can't believe it's finally finished. I feel just a little sad...**

**This chapter is dedicated to everyone who has reviewed this story, and in particular to AtticusBlackwolf, for reviewing every chapter without fail. Thank you, you are amazing! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Trinity Blood.  
**

* * *

**_Chapter 7_**

_ "...great. Just great." _Was Ester's first thought on regaining consciousness. _"Last time I woke up, I was imprisoned in an underground cell with Dietrich outside waiting to kill me. Somehow I doubt this time will be any better. Wait- maybe I'm already dead. Then... why does my body hurt so much?" _

She opened her eyes slowly, dreading what she was about to see. For a moment, she wondered if she really was dreaming and her eyes were still closed, since she still couldn't see a thing. Her head spun wildly and her throat ached as if someone had tried to strangle her, and had just about succeeded. From what she could remember, it was probably true. She lay there frozen, as sounds of a nearby battle filtered through her dazed mind. Just as they became unbearably loud and she almost leapt to her feet; despite knowing that her safest bet was to lie still and play dead, at least until the dizziness wore off a little, they stopped. The dread silence lasted for a few seconds, then the voices started. The sounds were blurred and she couldn't make out who they were or what they were saying. They seemed occupied though, and she took the opportunity to try moving her fingers. They responded slowly and the movement sent a fresh wave of dizziness through her, so she stopped and tried once more to decipher the voices.

One she thought was Dietrich's, raised in... fear? Anger? Something else? It was hard to tell. There was another voice she didn't recognise. Then she heard it. That beloved voice she never thought she'd hear again. Abel.

Ester forced away her dizziness and rolled to face the direction where the voices were coming from. It immediately became clear why she had been unable to see anything before; she'd been facing a stone wall. Now she could see out over the moonlit courtyard of a ruined castle, rubble spread everywhere and some of it (she suspected) newly destroyed. She herself was lying on a ledge about 20 feet above the ground. Below stood Abel facing down Dietrich. In between them stood another man she didn't know, with the longest black hair she'd ever seen. Ester felt her heart swell with joy. Abel had come to save her! Perhaps he did love her after all. She just had to let him know she was there. If only she could call out to him! But her throat was dry and sore and when she tried to speak all that came out was a gasped whisper.

Placing her hands on the stone ledge, Ester attempted to push herself into a sitting position. It failed dismally and she collapsed again with a small whimper of pain. It seemed that Abel had seen or heard her after all though, since she heard the rush of wings as he flew up and landed beside her. He was in his battle form, when his hair flew out of control, he grew wings and his eyes went red. (She'd seen it before in Istvan, but never actually asked him about it. She didn't even know if he knew she'd seen him) He looked at her with eyes full of concern but didn't touch her.

"Ester? It's just me. Don't be afraid. How do you feel? How is your throat?"

She tried to answer him, tried to tell him that she would never be afraid when he was there, and that her throat was sore but she would be just fine, but she couldn't form the words. Her throat closed up and all that came out was a faint whisper of air. She began to cough, and though it was weak it felt intensely painful. Abel shushed her gently.

"It's ok. Don't try to talk. I'm going to take you back to the Vatican now. The healers will be able to help you. Just relax, ok?"

She nodded, and as he picked her up and let his wings carry them both into the sky, she tried to hang on to consciousness as it threatened to slip away from her. She'd always wondered what it would be like to fly. But her exhausted body betrayed her and she fell into a deep sleep. Her last thought was how soft Abel's hair felt as it fell across her cheek.

* * *

Isaak watched the pair vanish into the night sky with more than a little sense of relief. A pitched battle was not really on his list of top ten things to do with the rest of the night- or what was left of it. The faint glimmer of red on the horizon gave rise to that last thought, and carried with it the desire to return to the Rosencreutz headquarters.

A faint gasp behind him caused him to turn sharply, and find Dietrich swaying on his feet, blood dripping down his arm and trickling from the many small cuts on his ashen face. He seemed to fall in slow motion, crumpling to the ground with a small cry of pain. The sound snapped Isaak out of his motionless state and the mage darted forward, easing Dietrich off the ground and cradling the boy in his arms. A quick examination of the wounded arm revealed a nasty bullet shot that would swiftly become infected if it were not cleaned and treated soon. Dietrich was unconscious but obviously in pain; his breathing was laboured and his skin was clammy. Isaak straightened up with the young man still in his arms. He had to get Dietrich back to the headquarters so he could treat the boy properly in his rooms, where he kept all his medical supplies. The magic came easily to his call, swirling around him and transporting the pair of them back to the city, to the Rosencreutz headquarters.

The Vatican's halls were deserted, the corridors silent and even the guards who patrolled the perimeter did so with solemn faces and heavy hearts. Everywhere the evidence of the Rosencreutz attack was evident; the broken walls, the beautiful gardens covered in rubble and the occasional body of a vampire lying torn and bloodied on the ground. Caterina had ordered that all of the Vatican's fallen should be recovered and placed in the crypt to be prepared for burial, but the fallen enemy could wait until the morning, when everyone had had some rest.

No one would have thought that, just hours before, the place had been swarming with diplomats, politicians, the Inquisition Squad, the AX and anybody who was anybody, all wanting to know what had happened and what somebody was going to do about it. Three parties emerged from the chaos. The first, headed by Cardinal Francesco, believed that the Empire was responsible, that war should be declared and that every vampire should be slaughtered on sight. The second, lead by Cardinal Caterina, pointed out inconsistencies in the Empire theory, insisted that the Empire would be their best ally in such a situation and demanded that other groups (specifically Rosencreutz) should be named responsible. The third group was mainly composed of diplomats and centre politicians who didn't really want to give an opinion (this group also included the young Pope) and wanted emissaries sent to the Empire to ask for an explanation while they waited to see what would happen next.

A solution was still far from being reached by the time the council was declared over for the night, and the only thing that had been decided on was that an emissary would indeed be sent to the Empire at first light.

Nobody expected to get any rest that night, but the trauma of battle and proceeding dramas had exhausted them all, and not many people even remembered placing their heads on their pillows.

And so almost every inhabitant of the Vatican was sleeping when Abel returned bearing Ester, and although Caterina was still awake in her office, only one person heard his approach.

Seth almost leaped out of her chair the second she heard sounds of movement from outside the window. Sure enough, Abel stood below her, clutching a slight figure in his arms, hastily folding away his wings in case any of the inquisition squad happened to be prowling about. He was right to worry, she thought grimly. The Vatican was about to hit a new peak in vampire hatred.

She opened the window and hissed at him.

"Abel! Over here!"

He hurried over to her. "Seth!" He lifted Ester up and made to pass her over the window sill. "Take her!"

Seth gripped the girl's shoulders and eased her gently over the sill, lowering her to the ground as Abel clambered over in her wake. Seth took in their dusty, bedraggled state and scratched faces with dismay.

"What happened to you two?'

"We had a run-in with Rosencreutz," He told her grimly. "I don't suppose you've met a young man called Dietrich before?"

"I'm afraid I haven't had that pleasure..."

"Consider yourself fortunate, little sister, is all I'll say."

She nodded, thinking to herself that fortune hadn't favoured her very much during her visit to the Vatican. Would Caterina be able to stave off the war that seemed increasingly likely with every word that came from Brother Francesco's mouth? Would Cain finally finish what they'd started so many years ago? All her work- centuries of effort- all for nothing? But no. Despair was not an option. She still had Abel. Things would work out. They had to.

Abel watched his little sister lose herself in thought, and felt himself overcome with sadness. If only he'd brought himself to do something, she wouldn't have had to take on such a huge burden. And Lilith. Lilith, who died, whom Cain had murdered because he knew it would hurt Abel. He never wanted to see that happen to Ester.

Seth caught the direction of his gaze and guessed his thoughts. "You can't hide your feelings forever, just because you think it will protect her, you know. It's not fair to her, or yourself. Ester wants to fight. More importantly, she wants to fight for _you_. She's a strong young woman. She can survive. She has already survived a great deal."

Lifting his gaze slowly, Abel sighed. But a spark of hope was flickering in his eyes as he carried Ester through the door and down the hallway, followed by his sister.

* * *

When Dietrich woke up, he was lying in his bed back at the Rosencreutz headquarters. In a chair on his right sat Isaak, who was smoking absentmindedly and appeared to be examining the ceiling in minute detail. The smell of dusty smoke assaulted him and he scowled at the offending cigarette, but decided that now wasn't the best time to engage in an argument over that particular habit.

The mage turned to look at him when he sat up, and in an unusual display of consideration crushed the tip of his cigarette in his fingers and let it fall to the floor. An awkward silence stretched between them, both unsure of what to say. Finally Isaak broke it.

"How do you feel?"

Dietrich, who had been expecting (at the very least) a tirade of fury and disappointment, was considerably surprised and even more relieved at the mage's quiet tone of voice.

"...Alright, I guess." He flexed his fingers and stretched his arms a little. Nothing seemed to hurt very much. "Did you heal me?"

"Hmmm."

Dietrich figured that was all the answer he was going to get. "Well- thanks then."

"What did you think you were doing?" The question wasn't malevolent. It didn't even sound interested. It was just flat.

"..I don't know... I just.. I.." He couldn't find the words. He didn't even know what he wanted to say. "I was just trying to.."

The mage just stared at him silently.

"But..." Dietrich hid his face in his hands. "I failed. Badly. This has got to be my biggest mistake yet."

Isaak's face was unreadable, but his voice was gentle. "A mistake is simply another way of doing things."

Dietrich glared daggers at him. Lots of evil daggers. "Enough with the stupid quotes, Isaak. I'm not in the mood for them."

"He who angers you conquers you, my dear."

"But you already di... Damn you, Isaak, stop doing that!" Dietrich leapt off the bed and flew at him with fists clenched. Isaak, who had already stood up, caught them easily and twisted the boy's arms behind his back, holding him tightly.

"No man can think clearly when his fists are clenched." Isaak grinned at him now, openly mocking. "But seriously, my love, you should calm down."

The young man turned his head away, trying not to be distracted by the arms around him.

"Don't call me that."

Isaak frowned in confusion. "Don't call you what?"

The answer was grudging and barely audible.

"My love."

Isaak chuckled and stroked the boy's cheek with one finger. "But you are."

Furious and terrified at the same time, Dietrich wrenched himself out of his lover's arms and fled to the other side of the room. "Liar! Shut up!"

"Dietrich..." Isaak stared at him, just starting to understand to what the issue was. "Of course I.." he hesitated, slightly embarrassed, "of course I'm in love with you. I thought you knew that."

Dietrich sat down sharply, perched on the edge of his bed, arms curled tightly around his chest and knees pulled up in front of him. He let his head fall against them.

"You thought wrong."

"Is this because I wouldn't take you to the festival?"

"No!" Dietrich was angry again. "Why can't you take me seriously for once? Why can't you tell me the truth?"

"But I am."

Isaak had always been a master of keeping calm when everyone else was losing it. Dietrich both loved and hated him for it. In situations like this, he definitely hated it.

"You can't be in love with me! It doesn't make sense!" he cried, tears spilling down his face. "You can't love anyone. You've said it yourself, remember?"

Isaak sighed, half amused and half offended. "That was a long time ago. Things change."

He came over to the bed and sat down beside the boy, lifting his hand but hesitating to touch him again. "Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love, Dietrich. It's not _supposed_ to make sense."

The young man looked up at him almost shyly with an expression speaking of a hope that was afraid it would be swiftly crushed. He spoke slowly, carefully, never taking his eyes of Isaak's face.

"You're.. not.. mad.. are you?"

The mage smiled and brought his hand up to stroke the boy's cheek comfortingly.

"Maybe. But love without madness is not love."

Recognising yet another quote (Calderon if he wasn't mistaken), Dietrich scowled and opened his mouth remind the man exactly what he thought of it, but Isaak took the opportunity to lean over and kiss him. Clasping one hand behind Dietrich's head to trap him, he slipped his tongue into the boy's open mouth, pushing him back onto the bed. And after a short, indignant but ineffectual struggle, Dietrich let him.

* * *

Caterina stood in the archway that lead from the inner citadel into the sunlit gardens that had been restored beautifully by the Vatican's gardeners. Beyond she could see Father Abel standing amidst the grass and flowers, staring up into the sky.

A slim figure brushed past her, concentrating too much upon its target to even notice the Cardinal standing silently by the garden entrance. Caterina watched as Ester approached cautiously, timid but determined. She noticed how the soft sound of the girl's voice, attempting to express gratitude, made Abel start and turn, then hold out his hand.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and then Seth appeared beside her. "Good morning, Lady Caterina."

"Good morning, Seth. Was it your words of wisdom that got through to Abel?"

Seth shot her a surprised glance. "You don't mind?"

"Why should I?"

The other shrugged, almost ruefully. "I had this idea that the Vatican was against - um, relationships- and all that stuff."

Caterina laughed softly. "My father was the Pope."

"True. Of course."

The Cardinal took one last glance at the couple standing together in the garden and smiled before turning away and leading them back into the hallway.

"Besides, where there is great love, there will always be miracles."

* * *

Meanwhile, seated in an ornate gilded chair with his hands folded in front of him, Cain meditated in satisfaction on the success of his recent operation. Helga, standing by a window boasting a mediocre view of the Corso di Francia, was less impressed, and was making no secret of her anger, or of exactly whom she believed was to blame.

"My lord, if only von Kaempfer had done as he was ordered to, instead of trying to second guess your commands, we could have completely overwhelmed the Vatican's forces! If we could have attacked earlier, we would have had maximum advantage of surprise! If only.."

Cain interrupted her without thought. "My dear, you forget. My lovely sister was also present, along with the best of her own forces. You would have been driven back eventually. No, I have achieved what I set out to do- something much more subtle, but with much further reaching effects. I have no desire for the world's powers to recognise me as a threat and combine their efforts to defeat me. I want the Vatican and the Empire to destroy each other first."

Helga frowned. "But my lord, the Empress herself was present. She will know that it was a trick."

"True. But I sincerely doubt that her visit to the Vatican was official, or that if her presence had been known a great many people would not have been very much distressed. In other words, the fact that it could not have been her cannot be disclosed by those responsible for her presence.

And thus the Vatican will accuse the Empire of the attack. Who knows, they may even declare war. And even if they do not, all it will take is another spark- perhaps a stealth attack on the Empire from the Vatican Inquisition Squad- and the sparks will ignite into a blaze that will not stop until it has eliminated everything through which it burns.

Then, my dear, and only then, will I officially make my presence known. I shall be the saviour of the world, come to rescue it from the darkness and despair of constant war and conflict. I shall recreate the world from fire and my Chosen shall rule."

Helga drew in a deep breath. "You are truly magnificent, my lord."

Cain smiled. "I am, aren't I."

He glanced around, and suddenly frowned.

"Where is Isaak?"

She sniffed in disgust.

"I believe he went to the Villa Borgese gardens, my lord. With Dietrich."

A speculative gleam came into Cain's eye, and his smile dripped with malice.

"Did he indeed?"

* * *

Walking side by side through beautiful gardens and sparkling waterfalls, Dietrich glanced up at his lover, struck by a sudden thought.

"Hey Isaak?"

"Yeah?"

"What was Cain up to here, anyway? What was that grand plan you were working on?"

Isaak gazed down at him for a moment before answering, a slight smile touching his face.

"I don't know. And I honestly don't care."

Somewhere in the distance the last words of a melody floated through the quiet air. Singer and origin lost to time, with a meaning that would never fade.

_So tell that someone that you love_

_Just what you're thinking of_

_If Tomorrow Never Comes_

_**The End**_


End file.
